88 AvanteMember since:28-December-2009

The year was 1988 and I was 13 years old, forever busy with my Tamiya models – the static ones, and not the Blackfoots and Bigwigs that like so many others I simply could never afford. Never too far away, however, was my Tamiya Guide Book. It had the Avante on the cover and I must have read it over and over again dreaming of one day owning an Avante. For me, Tamiya’s best model - certainly then and perhaps even now.

Fast forward to 2006 and having discovered ebay (!) and with special thanks to who I later realised was Tamiya Club member ‘loaded’ I bought my first ever Tamiya model from that Guide Book. The Avante. A 100% new in box original and perfect example. I remember thinking that having this model was all that I needed for my Tamiya collection. But that soon changed with memories of the 1989 Guide Book, and the Egress…

I’ve been collecting now for over 3 years having bought and sold a number of models. My interest is primarily in the first 100 models. As I write this introduction on 28 December 2009 I have always maintained only a private collection. But as I find myself spending more and more time browsing the pages of Tamiya Club (usually just staring in amazement at some of the incredible collections on this site) I figured it’s time I joined in!